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This thesis considers common approaches to eco-art practice and its established discourses. Through a critical review of the field it identifies problems in practice and theory that are potentially counterproductive. It outlines methods used in eco-art that, whilst seeking to address environmental concerns, may unintentionally perpetuate the approaches and attitudes of the prevailing view. The thesis argues that as these approaches and attitudes are widely understood to lie at the cause of current problems its continued use is inappropriate for engaging with ecological issues. In response to this problem the thesis draws together insights from arts practice and theory, Systems Thinking, Cybernetics, Artificial Life research, Deep Ecology and Process Thinking. It develops an experimental framework to guide the initiation, production, dissemination and evaluation of arts practice, which can critically engage with the approaches and attitudes of the prevailing view, but do so without perpetuating these. For the purposes of this thesis the framework is called a process aesthetic. The thesis describes how the process aesthetic is developed and tested through the undertaking of new creative practice, and the critical reflection upon this. The written component of the thesis concludes with an evaluation of the relevance and potential of a process aesthetic, and a consideration of what it might offer to our understanding of ecological art. The thesis contributes to the field of eco-art by drawing upon thinking and practices normally considered peripheral to its discourses. This identifies problems, which contradict its aim of challenging the approaches and attitudes of the prevailing view - problems which to date have been under-acknowledged and not adequately theorised. It establishes that arts practice guided by the process aesthetic demonstrates an approach that can overcome problems recognised within existing eco-art and can act as a critical tool for disturbing the approaches and attitudes of the prevailing view. The thesis establishes that the process aesthetic can be used as a guide for future eco-arts practice and can be a means of regrouping existing artworks, which would normally be overlooked by eco-art discussions. This extends the diversity of eco-art discussions to positively broaden its critical discourses. It thus offers a new and appropriate methodology for arts practice that seeks to engage with environmental issues and ecological thinking.

Objective: Wrist injuries are a common presentation to the emergency department (ED). There are no validated decision rules to help clinicians evaluate paediatric wrist trauma. This study aimed to identify which clinical features are diagnostically useful in deciding the need for a wrist radiograph, and then to develop a clinical decision rule. Methods: This prospective cohort study was carried out in the ED of Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Eligible patients were recruited if presenting within 72 hours following blunt wrist trauma. A standardised data collection form was completed for all patients. The outcome measure was the presence or absence of a fracture. Univariate analysis was performed with the χ2 test. Associated variables (p<0.2) were entered into a multivariate model. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was used to derive the clinical decision rule. Results: In total, 227 patients were recruited and 106 children were diagnosed with fractures (47%). Of 10 clinical features analysed, six were found by univariate analysis to be associated with a fracture. CART analysis identified the presence of radial tenderness, focal swelling, or an abnormal supination/pronation as the best discriminatory features. Cross fold validation of this decision rule had a sensitivity of 99.1% (95% confidence interval 94.8% to 100%) and a specificity of 24.0% (17.2% to 32.3%). The radiography rate would be 87%. Conclusions: Radial tenderness, focal swelling, and abnormal supination/pronation are associated with wrist fractures in children. The clinical decision rule derived from these features had a high sensitivity, but low specificity, and would not substantially alter our current radiography rate. The potential for a clinical decision rule for paediatric wrist trauma appears limited.

The authors outline one path towards constructing interactive artworks with the potential for displaying novel behavior. They use Peter Cariani's taxonomy of adaptive robotic systems as a framework for comparing the capabilities of systems that interact with their environments. The authors then describe two examples of structurally autonomous systems that are able to construct their own sensors independently of a human designer. The first device, the evolved radio, is the result of a recent hardware evolution (HE) experiment conducted by the authors. The second device, the electrochemical ear, was constructed almost 50 years ago by the British cybernetician Gordon Pask. The emergent behavior in both systems is only possible because many conventional engineering constraints were relaxed during their construction. Using existing technology, artists have the opportunity to explore the potential of structurally autonomous systems as interactive artworks.

Best known for his role in the creation of Spider-Man and noted for his cinematic storytelling, he had a mystique rare among industry superstars.